The embodiments described herein relate generally to electric vehicles and, more specifically, to methods and systems for charging a vehicle that includes an electrochemical energy storage device.
In response to both increasing fuel costs related to the use of conventional combustion engine vehicles and heightened environmental concerns, including air pollution, the use of electric and hybrid vehicles has increased. As a result, energy demand will likely increase in the form of electrical energy used to charge batteries or other energy storage devices used in such vehicles. Electric vehicles may include, but are not limited to, vehicles that rely solely on energy stored in batteries to drive an electric motor that propels the vehicle (e.g., a traction motor), vehicles that include batteries for storing energy used to drive a traction motor and also include an internal combustion engine that drives a generator used to recharge the batteries, and vehicles that include a combination of electric and fossil fuel powered components (e.g., hybrid vehicles).
Currently, charging devices, also referred to as charging stations or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), provide power to an electric vehicle for charging of the energy storage devices within the electric vehicle. These charging stations are controlled by charging protocols which limit the amount of current supplied to the electric vehicle. Protocols which permit higher current throughput accordingly enable reduced charging times. In order to accommodate the variety of charging protocols available for electric vehicles, EVSE must also be capable of supplying a wide range of voltages. Accordingly, a conventional EVSE containing a single power module adapted for a wide range of voltages is inefficient as the design of the power module can only be optimized for a particular voltage, not for a range of voltages.